Mass Effect: Resolution
by Byakugan789
Summary: Ever watch the flash show How It Should Have Ended on youtube or where they detail all the plot holes in your favorite games and movies. Try this one on for size. Post-script: Yeah, I know, antimatter warheads are regulated by the citidels conventions on WMD, but when has that ever stopped shep? She nukes several facilities per game.


Commander Jane Sheppard walked into engineering to find her LT Adams watching a vid screen with an image of the Geth dreadnaught from Eden prime. It was the same one that had been taken from her helmet cam as she had been disarming the nuclear warheads around the Prothean beacon. "You wanted to see me chief?"

The vid screen froze mid loop and LT Adams turned to salute her. She returned it with an 'at ease' and an inquisitive look. "Commander, do you know why there are so many computers down here?"

Sheppard gave the man an incredulous look. "I really don't have time for this chief, if that's a…"

"Please humor me Ma'am, I'll get to the point quickly."

"Besides the constant diagnostics on the engines I really have no idea, LT. I suppose you're going to tell me though?"

"Indeed. The simple truth of the matter is that our, and really every other ship in the citadel races, is propelled off of matter-antimatter annihilation. As I'm sure you've been taught in school antimatter is an extremely volatile substance and contact with even a single hydrogen atom in the fuel injectors could potentially detonate the entire ship." Sheppard blanched and turned stark white at this statement.

"If it's that bad why in the bleeding hell do we use it? With a margin of error that small? Th-that's… that's INSAINE!"

"Indeed it is." Adams said smiling. "The reason the citadel races, and indeed the Protheans before us who we all too the idea from, use it is because we can use miniature mass effect fields to feed the antimatter anywhere we want throughout the ships drive core without fear of damage. The massive number and complexity of our shipboard computers allow for the calculations to occur and the fields to be made."

"This is all impressive, chief, but really what does it have to do with your wanting to speak to me? You said it was important to the mission."

"Ah, and that brings us full circle." The Lieutenant said, gesturing to the vid screen. "Remember what I said about such a small amount of antimatter destroying our ship?" Sheppard nodded. "That is a dreadnaught with a strong enough design to land on a planet without causing structural damage. Unless you want to send a fleet or two on a suicide mission you're going to need something a bit stronger than a frigates MAC and disruptor torpedoes to take it down and as we're going to be hunting the guy who uses one as his flagship I thought you should have some better Ammunition."

Greg Adams held up his omnitool and brought up a schematic. "If you could get me these materials I could make you a cache of antimatter warheads that'll allow you to level the playing field next time we come up against that monster."

Sheppard Grinned.

Vermire…

The Kodiac shuttle lands in the Normandy's hold and Sheppard rushes out shouting orders. "Engineer Adams! Soveriegn is on his way I want us cloaked and ready to fire your Antimatter warheads yesterday! Pressley, get LADAR scanning the area around the relay proto, we have large incoming hostile and I want to see him before he sees us! Garus, help engineer Adams and make sure that gun is loaded properly! Tali, check the modified disrupters, I want our AM-missile rack fully operational when that ship come on screen! We're only likely to get a few shots off if we still want a window of escape so everyone's calibrations need to be damn near perfect! I want a 1 for 1 hit ratio on this people! Move, **Move**, **MOVE**!"

In an instant the ship became a flurry of activity, everyone rushing around, carrying out her orders to the best of their abilities.

27 minutes later there was a massive pulse and Sovereign dropped out of FTL over Vermire and the Normandy's targeting computer went into overclock mode. The Normandy's modified rack of 8 cannibalized javelin missiles raced through the intervening space, locking onto their target and using their altered mass drives to speed them on rather than increasing their mass accompanied by 8 1 second bursts from the ships spinal cannon. Sovereign, apparently trusting his vastly superior kinetic barriers and armor to save him from their assault didn't even try to dodge and was hit by all 16 shots one after another. Each warhead bloomed against the Reapers hull in a massive starburst of white which caused the entire vessel to shudder as it was ripped apart under the assault.

Everybody cheered.

"No time for pleasantries just yet!" Jane called out, a smile coloring her voice. "We still need to make sure that ship is scrap! Navigator! Follow that hulk, keep a bead on her. Gunnery chief! I bought Engineer Adams enough parts for 50 of those shells, see that they're loaded." Sheppard ordered, remembering the Reapers words and the threat of indoctrination it posed. "We're going to have ourselves a turkey shoot! Leave nothing left!"

Illos…

Four months later…

Sheppard massaged her temples as she walked through the Normandy's bridge. She was really beginning to hate AI's. The information was solid though. The Reapers had a fleet and, for the moment at least, it was both dormant and vulnerable. If she could get this to the Alliance high command quietly they just might be able to end this war before it even started. Vigil had been working on the full schematics of the citadel for millennia, deciphering the Protheans data on its coding and it believed it had found a way to open a two way path to dark space _**without**_ awakening the Reaper fleet on the other side. There was of course the possibility that one of more of the Reapers were awake, but the information gathered by the Protheans and Sheppard herself suggested otherwise.

Vigil had been impressed with humanities solution to the Reapers and had enthusiastically offered its help.

It was time to end this.


End file.
